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Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Observer

Keenan Prevue

KeenanP-revue_WEB
Steph Wulz


The satirical “skit show” that is the Keenan Revue returns this Thursday, marking the 38th year of the event. “It’s Not Revue, It’s Me: A Breakup Revue” will take place Feb. 20, 21 and 22 at 7 p.m. in the Stepan Center.

Tickets were distributed for free in LaFortune earlier this month, enticing students to wait in line for hours to secure seats.

Matt Moore, a senior from Keenan Hall and this year’s producer, provided some background on the show.

“The Revue addresses topics such as campus events, dorm life and pop culture,” Moore said. “The show is lighthearted and meant to poke fun at different events that happened within the past year.”

This is the fourth year the Revue has been held on Notre Dame’s campus, he said. The show was previously held at Saint Mary’s, but relocated to everyone’s second-favorite dome on campus, the Stepan Center.

The Revue was able to push boundaries when the show was at Saint Mary’s, but less obscenity has been tolerated since moving to Notre Dame’s campus, Moore said.

Four years since the Stepan Center debut, Moore said that Keenan now has a better understanding of their limits.

“As a freshman, one of the skits I was in got cut for being offensive, but since then The Revue has cleaned up and become less vulgar,” Moore states. “The second year The Revue was back on campus, I was one of the head writers and we had a better understanding of what would be tolerated. We only had to make minor adjustments to the show after Thursday. Our goal this year is to have all three nights of the show be exactly the same.”

The Revue has a unique theme every year. Past themes included “Keenan Revue: Too Big for Saint Mary’s” and “The Revue Strikes Back.” This year’s theme is “It’s Not Revue, It’s Me: A Breakup Revue.”

Although the themes of the show vary, there is some consistency, Moore said. For instance, every year there is some dancing* to accompanying music. *Disclaimer: “dancing” is being used as a euphemism. Example: T-Pain’s 2005 hit “I’m n’ Luv (Wit A Dancer) was a commendable ballad.

The making of The Revue involved an elaborate process that began in October. Keenan held two weeks of tryouts, in which over 60 skits were auditioned. Since the show only lasts two hours, they had to be brutal with the eliminations, Moore said. However, the show’s directors worked to accommodate as many Keenan guys into the selected skits as possible.

The show’s director, Connor Duffy, promises this year’s show to be a great one.

“I was the Dance* Director last year, and I will be the first one to tell you that the dancers* are way better than last year,” states Duffy. “They are going to bring the house down. The musical acts sound great as well. We are implementing some new technical equipment on stage that will add to the overall quality of the show. Overall, expect a great show, hopefully the best one ever!”